This novel is surprisingly upbeat for a book exploring the aftermath of a death ... This well-structured book explores the widening ripples and the long-time after-effects of the accident ... While the novel occasionally tips over into sentimentality, Taylor Johnson's interweaving of her characters and management of chronology is particularly impressive.
This is a love story about loss, a sweet romantic comedy that is not meant to be funny but still skews to conventions about overcoming obstacles and finding true love ... Taylor-Johnson is a charming writer with a poetic bent ... The novel is narrated from multiple points of view ... We even hear from the family dog. It’s a clever device, intended to give the reader a sense of loss from varied perspectives, but these tangential stories do little to enhance our knowledge of the heroine ... These piecemeal glimpses are intriguing, but they made this reader long for more: What were Jean’s hopes and dreams? What did she think when she held her child or petted her dog? Did she have regrets? Jean Harley was here, but we could have used more of her on these pages in order to fully grieve.
Sure to be popular among fans of Liane Moriarty and Sarah Pekkanen, this tender, witty novel dives into the life of an amazing woman by exploring the grief of those she’s left behind. Johnson’s ability to bring the diverse voices and viewpoints of the supporting characters to life is admirable, especially in a novel of this size.
